Continuous production of packages containing a zig-zag folded strip of wadding or cotton wool material



March 19, 1963 F. WITSCHI 3,081,658

commuous PRODUCTION OF PACKAGES CONTAINING A ZIG-ZAG FOLDED STRIP OFWADDING 0R COTTON WOOL MATERIAL Filed Dec. 10, 1957 Arryl;

United States Patent 3,081,658 CONTINUOUS PRGDUCTION 0F PACKAGES CON-TAINING A ZlG-ZAG FOLDED STRIP 0F WAD- DlNG 0R COTTGN WOOL MATERIALFritz Witschi, Schaflhausen, Switzerland, assignor t0 Ivf BandageMachinery Company Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, a corporationFiled Dec. 10, 1957, Ser. No. 701,825 4 Claims. (Cl. 83-425) Thisinvention relates to a method of and apparatus for continuouslyproducing packages containing a strip of wadding or cotton wool materialfolded zigzag fashion inside the package.

According to the invention a strip of wadding or cotton wool materialfrom which the desired lengths can be cut is obtained directly from aweb leaving a carding machine by continuously winding the web into amultiple lap while simultaneously axially advancing the lap andcontinuously longitudinally cutting a strip containing the thickness ofthe lap from the leading edge of the lap at a distance therefrom whichcorresponds with the desired width of the strip, and then drawing thestrip away in the longitudinal direction.

The apparatus for performing the method consists in that, for thepurpose of forming the multiple lap from the web delivered by thecarding machine, a revolving winding core is arranged with its axis ofrotation across the delivery end of the card, and in that, for thepurpose of axially advancing the lap on the winding core, feed means aredisposed in the axial direction of the core in such a manner as topermit the core and the lap to revolve.

The method proposed by the present invention will be described moreparticularly hereinafter with reference to an illustrative form ofapparatus shown in the drawings in which HQ. 1 is a diagrammaticperspective view of the principal elements of the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an axial section of the lap 'winding drum and the circularcutters comprised in the apparatus.

FIG. 2A is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 2A-2A of FIG. 2, ofa support column for cutters in the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a cross section through part of the lapwinding drum.

In FIG. 1, is the dotfer of the car-ding machine from which, by means ofa stripper comb 12, the web is detached in a conventional manner andtaken on to a revolving drum 13. The drum has opposing substantiallycircular end plates Distributed equidistantly over the peripheralsurface 15 of the drum are several endless conveyor belts 14 so arrangedthat the outer belt sections are parallel with the drum axis, and eachbelt runs over a drive roller 16 at one end of the drum and over areturn roller 17 at the other. The drive rollers 16 drive all theconveyor belts 14 in the same direction of travel and at the same speed,the return rollers 17 being individually adjustable on the drum in theaxial direction to control the tension of each individual belt. Theshafts 18 of the drive rollers 16 are articulated, as shown in FIGS. 2and 3, and they are driven through a common worm gearing 19 by asprocket wheel 21, loosely mounted on the shaft 20 of the drum andadjustably rotated through the drum shaft 20 via a sprocket wheel 22secured thereto and a variable speed gear, not specially shown.

The web 11 is wound by means of the revolving drum into a multiple lap23 which is simultaneously, continuously traversed by the conveyor belts14 in the axial direction towards the return rollers 17. The web,therefore, is wound on the drum in continuous, helically lapped layersof wadding or cotton wool material. Two cooperating reddidlfifidPatented Mar. 19, 1963 volving circular cutters 24 and 25 continuouslycut a strip 26 of wadding or cotton wool material containing thethickness of the lap longitudinally from that edge of the lap whichtravels outwards beyond the return rollers, the cut being performed at adistance from the momentary leading edge of the advancing lap which willdepend upon the amount by which the lap is advanced per revolution ofthe drum, and this strip is continuously drawn away from the lap.

The cut performed by the circular cutting knives will run along a helixdetermined by the outside edge of that layer which has advanced as faras the cutter knife 24. The two parallel axes of rotation of the twocircular cutters 24 and 25, therefore, must be set at an angle to thedirection of traverse of the lap, and this angle will depend upon thepitch of the helix, that is to say, upon the distance through which theweb is axially advanced in the course of each revolution of the drum.For setting and adjusting this angle in conformity with the speed ofadvance, the two circular cutters and their common frame are pivotallymounted for adjustment about a vertical axis which contains the point atwhich the cutters bite into the material and intersects the axis of thelap and which is located in the column 38.

The circular cutter 24 on the outside of the lap is a thin, slightlyconical shaped annular ring resembling the edge of a dinner plate ofwhich the inner rim is clamped into a hub 27, Whereas the outer rim hasa bevelled cutting edge 28. The other circular cutter 25 is a recesseddisc with an outer cylindrical flange of which the narrow edge has ahollow, conical profile to form the cooperative cutting edge 29. Thecircular cutter Zl radially only slightly overlaps the edge of thecooperating cutter 25 and is elastically urged into contact therewith sothat the two cutters are selfgrinding as they rotate.

The speed of the cutters depends upon the speed of the drum, thecircular cutter 25 on the inside of the lap preferably being driven at aslightly higher speed than t .e circular cutter 24.

The strip 26 of wadding or cotton wool material is drawn off inconformity with the speed of rotation of the drum 13 by a pair ofdrawing-off rollers 30 which compress the strip and deliver it to asecond pair of drawingoff rollers 31. Between these second pair ofrollers 31 and a third pair of drawing-off rollers 32 is an electricallycontrolled crosscutting device 33 which cuts sections of the desiredlength or pro-determined weight off the wadding or cotton wool strip inthe conventional manner while the pairs of rollers 31 and 32 arearrested. Meanwhile the first pair of drawing'oif rollers 30 continuesto feed and causes the creation of a loop in the material between itselfand the next following pair of rollers 3-1. When the arrested pair ofrollers 31, 32 again start revolving, their slightly higher speed overthe first pair of rollers 30 just takes up this loop during the intervaluntil they are arrested again. The severed section 34 is fed from thethird pair of rollers 32 to a pair of pleating rollers 35 adapted torise and fall transversely across the flat side of the severed strip 34immediately in front of a stationary guide 36 intended for the receptionof the package of wadding or cotton wool material, for the purpose offolding into regular zig-zag pleats the strip of wadding or cotton woolmaterial as it enters the guide 36.. The wrapper 37 is pushed onto theguide 36 and retracted after having been filled with the strip ofwadding or cotton wool material 32, and the packing can then be closed.

Since, on the one hand, the feed of the conveyor belts per revolution ofthe drum can be adjusted to vary the width of the strip, the guide 36,on the other hand, can be adapted or exchanged to fit the resultantwidth of the strip.

By means of several longitudinal cutting devices several strips ofwadding or cotton wool material could be cut off the lap at the sametime, and each such strip fed to a separate guide. In View of theincrease in the speed of advance of the web that would then be requiredthe drum could be fed 'with a web delivered by a two-set carding machineor by several single carding machines arranged in tandem to ensure thatthe web had the desired thickness.

To advance the lap 2-3 axially on the drum, the conveyor belts 14mounted on the drum might be replaced by conveyor means arranged on theoutside of the lap which could be wound on to a revolving core insteadof on to a drum, in such manner as to axially advance the lap withoutimpeding the rotation of the drum and the lap. Such conveyor means mightconsist for instance of several endless trains of articulated feedrollers, each train revolving along the outer surface of the lap in thedirection of the axis of revolution of the winding core, whereas thefeed rollers themselves rotated about the axis of the train.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for cutting a strip from a continuously moving webcomprising a rotatable substantially cylindrical winding core having anaxis of rotation, a first feeding means feeding said web substantiallytangentially to said core to wrap said web around the peripheral surfaceof said core, a second feed means disposed substantially on theperipheral surface portion of said winding core to support the wrappedweb and to advance the lap of said 4 web in an axial direction of thecore, and cutting means positioned adjacent the end of said rotatablecore towards which said second feed means feeds said wrapped web tosever the strip from said axially advancing wrapped web.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said feed means comprisesa plurality of circumferentially spaced belts extending in a directionparallel to the axis of said core, and wherein means is provided formoving said belts in the same direction and speed.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said cutting means includecooperating circular cutter knives and wherein the axes of rotation ofsaid knives are angularly adjustable about an axis which substantiallypasses through the point where the cutters bite into the material of theweb and which intersects the axis of the lap.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein the plane containing theaxes of rotation of said knives makes an angle with the axis of the lapwhich angle is at least approximately equal to the pitch of the helixformed by lapped layers as a result of their axial advance perrevolution of the lap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS813,441 Marsh Feb. 27, 1906 1,235,942 Sisson Aug. 7, 1917 1,450,544Hannah Apr 3, 1923 1,756,171 Bommer Apr. 29, 1930 2,834,092 Drummond eta1 May 13, 1959

1. AN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING A STRIP FROM A CONTINUOUSLY MOVING WEBCOMPRISING A ROTATABLE SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL WINDING CORE HAVING ANAXIS OF ROTATION, A FIRST FEEDING MEANS FEEDING SAID WEB SUBSTANTIALLYTANGENTIALLY TO SAID CORE TO WRAP SAID WEB AROUND THE PERIPHERAL SURFACEOF SAID CORE, A SECOND FEED MEANS DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY ON THEPERIPHERAL SURFACE PORTION OF SAID WINDING CORE TO SUPPORT THE WRAPPEDWEB AND TO ADVANCE THE LAP OF SAID WEB IN AN AXIAL DIRECTION OF THECORE, AND CUTTING MEANS POSITIONED ADJACENT THE END OF SAID ROTATABLECORE TOWARDS WHICH SAID SECOND FEED MEANS FEEDS SAID WRAPPED WEB TOSEVER THE STRIP FROM SAID AXIALLY ADVANCING WRAPPED WEB.